Boris Johnson admits he’s failed over London roadworks

The Mayor said it has proved 'incredibly difficult' to fix London's roadworks problem

Boris Johnson today admitted it was proving "incredibly difficult" to reduce the number of roadworks in London.

The Mayor said he had a "complex" about delivering on his promise to cut the amount of digging taking place.

Road users have been infuriated by a record 370,000 sets of roadworks — the equivalent of each of the capital's estimated 85,000 streets being dug up four times on average in the last 12 months.

Mr Johnson told BBC Radio: "Let me put my hands up to this one. I had an unnecessary Messiah complex and though I could really solve this with the wave of a wand. It has proved incredibly difficult."

He said the problem, made worse by bad weather and Thames Water repairs, would only be solved with the introduction of a lane rental scheme for utilities firms and councils. Latest figures reveal the number of potholes on London roads soared from 79,299 cracks and craters last year to 121,299 in 2009-10 — a 57 per cent increase.

The cost of repairs also soared with the capital's 33 boroughs spending £8.3 million.